Through The Weeds (Nightshade MC Book 2) (27 page)

“Finish it,” Buster told Ace. He shook his head when Ace reached for the knife he wore on his belt. “Not the knife. The gun. Make it quick and clean.”

“She doesn't deserve that. You know that, right? She doesn't deserve anything but agony.”

“You've wasted enough time on her, Brother. End this quick. Go home to Jillian,” Buster suggested. The mention of Jillian seemed to center Ace. He moved his hand away from the knife. The gunshot was almost deafening inside the small room. Buster's ears rang.

“I'll take care of her. Clean this place up. You two go. You got a better place to be. I bet Caroline baked something.”

“If she did, you'll get some of it, Train. Come by the house when you're done for some dinner. And don't tell me that you won't be hungry. I know you will be.”

“Give me a couple of hours,” Train replied. “I really hope she doesn't make pasta and sauce. I'll go to her place, get the files, and I'll make it look like she took that trip she was planning. That should keep us in the clear if anyone starts looking for her.”

<#<#<#<#

Buster found Monroe out in the front yard, nailing a board over the front window, when they arrived back at the house. “What happened?”

“Someone chucked a rock through the window.” Monroe climbed down the step ladder. “There were some kids out here, but I don't think that it was them. I think that it was Harris.”

“You're probably right about that. Where are the girls?”

“Inside. Jillian's making dinner. You might want to head in, Ace, she's a little on edge.”

“Go,” Buster told him. “I'll help Monroe finish up out here.” Ace nodded and headed inside. “How's Caroline been?”

“She's okay. She's tough. I might have fucked up a little earlier, though.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I said something about when she has her bakery. It just slipped out and she caught it. She hasn't asked me anything, but she keeps giving me this look like she wants to.”

“I'm glad that you're being upfront with me, Monroe. But how could you be that stupid? I thought that it was pretty clear it was supposed to be a surprise.”

“I told her that I was high and confused. Oh yeah, that reminds me. They asked for some weed. I told them that I'd get something when the two of you came back.”

“Why don't you do that now?” Buster suggested.

“Yeah. I'll do that. Sorry, Brother. I didn't mean to screw anything up. Maybe I'm wrong and she hasn't been looking at me any kind of way.”

“I don't think that you're wrong.” Buster could see inside the house through the windows along side the large broken pane. He could see Caroline, and the arch of her eyebrow told him that she had something she wanted to talk about. “Is that the look?” Monroe nodded. “Thought so.”

Buster smelled something cooking as soon as he walked into the house. He realized it was meatloaf. His stomach growled. “Smells delicious in here.” Jillian and Ace were nowhere to be seen, but Caroline greeted him with a smile.

“Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. No vegetables. Apparently you don't even have a can of corn.”

“There's a bag of peas in the freezer. I use them like an ice pack sometimes.” Buster slid his cut off, hung it on a hook on the wall. “Monroe took off to get the two of you something to smoke.”

“Great. I think it'll calm Jillian down some, though she might be calmer now that Ace is here. He looked upset.”

“It was a long day,” Buster told her. “I'll fill you in on everything later.”

“Okay,” she replied. “You want a beer or something?”

“I'll get it.”

“I'm going to make brownies later. Special brownies.”

“Make extra for Train. He's been pining away for your baking. I told him that we'll save him some dinner, too. He's taking care of something but he'll be here later.”

“Monroe said the craziest thing earlier. He said when I open my bakery. Can you even imagine that?”

“Actually, I can.” Buster grabbed two beers out of the fridge, carried them over to where she sat. “Which is why, you're going to have a bakery. I'm going to buy you one.” The shock on her face made him laugh. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but Monroe said he'd spoken out of turn. So, I guess that you'll just have to be involved in the process, which is probably the best thing to get you what you want.”

“You can't just buy me a bakery.”

“Why not?” Buster handed her one of the beers and sat own next to her. She opened her mouth and started to speak but stopped herself several times. He resisted the urge to laugh but couldn't keep from smiling.

“It's too much. That's why. And I already have a job. Or are you firing me from Nightshade Construction?”

“Not firing you. Figured that you could do both, hire some help in the bakery or whatever. We can find a location where we can have two store fronts, one for the bakery and one for Nightshade.”

“It's too much. Do you realize just how much it would cost?”

“Do you realize just how much money I have, Caroline? I can afford it.”

“That's your money. I don't expect you to do things for me with it. Especially not things like spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy me a bakery.” She set the beer down on the table without even taking a sip. “I should check the meatloaf.”

“I know that you don't expect anything. You're telling me you don't want to have a bakery of your own? How many times have you said that you miss Baked and a proper kitchen?”

“I have a proper kitchen now.” She walked into that kitchen, over to the oven. “Are there really peas in the freezer?”

“Yes but I hate peas, which is why I pretty much just use 'em as an ice pack.” Buster didn't know what about him wanting to spend money on her made her so uncomfortable, but he was going to find out. “So, maybe tomorrow we'll take a ride and see if there's any place that catches your eye.”

“What did I just say?” She slammed the oven shut with force that surprised him. “That's too much, Buster.”

“I'll decide what's too much.” Buster got up from the couch. “Why are you getting so angry about this? It's a nice fucking thing to do.”

“I'm not angry. I'm just not interested.”

“And I don't understand why you're not.”

“Because I'm not with you for your money. That's why! And if you start buying me bakeries, it's going to seem like I am. Like I'm with you to get things. And I'm not. We should also figure out other things like how we're going to split household expenses.”

“Split household expenses?” Buster had to struggle to keep a straight face. If she thought that he was going to take money from her for anything, she was out of her mind. “Caroline, there is never going to be a day where I sit down and start dividing bills with you. It's not happening.”

“That's not fair.”

“How is it not fair?”

“We're both supposed to contribute.” She huffed. “I'm not looking to be a kept woman.”

“And I'm not looking to keep you. I'm just trying to take care of my family. You are my family, Caroline. I will never let you go without anything that you need.” Buster closed the distance between them. “And that includes the bakery. I know why you're with me. I love you.”

“I love you too. The money just makes me feel weird.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It probably doesn't make sense to you, but it makes sense to me.”

“I don't get it.” Buster wasn't ashamed to admit that he still hadn't fully figured out how Caroline's mind worked. Maybe he never would. She was unlike anyone that he'd ever met before, with her odd practical side a sharp contrast to the way that she could get lost in her own mind. The practical side made it easy to forget what had happened to her just days ago. “Let's leave this alone for now. We've got other things that we need to focus on.”

“Harris.” The quickness of her response was a surprise. “She's no longer the law, but she doesn't exactly care. She's going to do something. Hurt one of us or worse.”

Buster agreed. “We're not going to let it come to that. We'll be smart. She'll be sloppy and stupid.”

“She needs to die.” She looked up and met his eyes. “It's the only way that we can be sure that we're going to be clear of her.”

“That may be the case,” Buster replied. “We'll figure it out. Get past the weeds.”

“I know that we will.” Her smile was wide as she pushed up on her toes to brush her lips against his. “I love you.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The days fell into a holding pattern of hiding in the shadows and waiting for Harris to strike. They barely left the house, well, at least that was the case of her and Jillian. Ace and Buster were gone more with each passing day. Train and Monroe alternated babysitting duties and eating everything in sight.

Caroline spent her days on a laptop Bones had loaded all the Nightshade Construction information in. She was able to schedule jobs, make appointments for estimates of new jobs and keep track of the payroll of the men that she'd hired. The work kept her busy for a few hours a day, but then the boredom would set it.

Jillian fought the boredom by reading. She always had either a book or a tablet in her hands. She didn't do much talking, but then again, she never really had. Caroline wanted to fight her boredom by baking, but she couldn't. Not after she'd told Buster that she didn't want a bakery.

That whole discussion replayed over and over in her head. Even though Buster had dropped the subject, she knew that it wasn't the last time it would come up. He'd never understand exactly why she felt so uncomfortable at the idea of not contributing to their life. Maybe she'd never fully understand it, either.

Everything between them had moved so quickly. She didn't doubt the power of the two of them together, not at all. Buster was who she was meant to be with, and vice versa, but it was still fast. They'd never really had much downtime to adjust because there was always something. And now, there was Harris.

In the bored hours, Caroline had given her a lot of thought. The days ticked by, and she hadn't made a move, probably because they were always in a group because numbers were safer than being alone. Harris hadn't gone away. She was just biding her time until she could get one of them alone. She'd nearly suggested to Buster that they try and lure her out but knew that he'd want to do the luring himself.

Caroline wanted to be the bait. She wanted to be the one that Harris approached. Even though she'd never been bloodthirsty in her life, she wanted to see the woman bleed and to make her suffer. Maybe she was losing her mind after everything that had happened to her, but she was tired of being helpless, tired of needing rescue. It was time that she was able to protect her family and herself. It was just time for something to be done, so that they could all move forward with their lives.

The sound of a ringing phone broke her out of her thoughts. She watched as Bones took his phone from his pocket. “Hey Kay, what's up?” Kay was his wife. “Wait, what?” He got to his feet, began to pace. “Did you get it out? Alright. No, don't call the fire department. Fuck.”

“What happened?” Jillian asked.

“Someone must have thrown a cigarette into the pile of leaves next to our storage shed in the back yard. It got the side of the shed, but she got it out with the garden house. She's just a little shook up.” Bones sighed and held the phone away from his ear when his wife started to scream. Caroline could here her from where she was. “Babe, there's nothing wrong with being shook up. It's completely normal.”

“Go.” Caroline rose to her feet. “Buster and Ace should be back soon. We'll be fine.”

Bones hesitated, but then it seemed that Kay began to scream again, because he held the phone away from his ear. “I'll be right there.” He hung up the phone. “I'll be gone a half an hour, tops. Make sure that you lock the door behind me and stay inside. This place is locked up tight.”

“We'll be fine,” Caroline repeated. She realized that the opportunity she'd been waiting for was now here. Without Bones standing watch, she could leave or do something to lure Harris out. Maybe a trip to the grocery store or down to Gino's.

“I'm going to wait on the porch until I hear the door lock behind me.” Bones was true to his word. He even turned and checked the door handle before he walked off the porch.

Once he was gone, Jillian cleared her throat. “Are you sure that telling him to go was a good idea? I mean, someone just happens to stroll past his house and toss a cigarette in just the right spot to start a fire.”

“You're being paranoid, Jillian.” Although she had a point. “It makes no sense that it's Harris. She'd do something here.”

“Unless she started the fire to get Bones away from here. We really should stop him.” Jillian popped to her feet just as the motorcycle out front roared to life. Caroline grabbed her arm to keep her from going out the front door.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because we're going to fix this Harris problem once and for all. Or I should say I'm going to.” Caroline wasn't sure that Harris would take on her and Jillian. “I want you to go back into the guest room and lock yourself in. Stay there until I come back.”

“Wait, what the hell are you talking about?” Jillian yanked her arm back.

“There's no time to go into the details. Bones will be back in a half hour. I'm just going to take a little ride to the grocery store and hope that Harris tries something. And if she does, I'll kill her. I'll make sure it's self defense.”

“Whoa. Get the fuck off the crazy train, Caroline. You're not leaving and doing that. What's to stop her from taking a potshot at you on the porch? You could be dead before you're down the steps. No. It's too dangerous.”

“Do you want to spend the rest of your life locked inside this house? I don't. I want to be able to sit outside. Go to the store. Go for a ride with my old man. I'm sick of waiting for this bitch to make a move.”

“And you think that I'm not? I'm so tired of feeling the way I feel. So tired, but I know that going off half-cocked isn't going to solve anything. You're going to get yourself hurt or worse. She's crazy, and she's had police training.”

“I don't care.”

“I can see that. Do I need to call Buster? Tell him about your little plan?”

“You're going to interrupt him while he's on Nightshade business? You think that's smart?”

“Yeah, I do.” Jillian crossed her arms over her chest.

“Ace tells you what's going on, right? You realize how much pressure they're both under? Harris is only making it worse. Maybe I'm not as badass as she is, but I've got to do something.”

“What you need to do is take a deep breath and think. Be smart. That's how Nightshade survives, they're smart. We need to think the way that they do. If it was as simple as taking Harris out, it would already be done.” Jillian stepped in front of the door. “I'm not letting you leave.”

“Fine.” Caroline huffed out the word. She hated that she could see the logic in Jillian's words. But she could also see the logic in her own plan, and she was so tired of doing nothing. “I'm going to go upstairs for a while.”

“Alright. I'm going to go back to my book. It's pretty good. You can borrow it when I'm done, if you want.”

“Sure. That'd be great.” Caroline turned away from her friend and headed up the stairs. She considered trying to just sneak out the window. It would have been easier from the first floor. From the second she knew that she would likely break something trying to get to the ground. Fuck. Her plan had been so perfect, or at least she'd thought that it had been. Damn Jillian and her logic. Especially the logic that remembered Harris was trained in weapons and combat as part of her job.

Jillian was probably already on the phone to Buster or Ace. Buster was going to be pissed. Epically pissed. It was going to lead to a fight. It would put more pressure on him, and that was the absolute last thing that she wanted. Caroline took out her phone when it buzzed in her pocket. She knew the number by heart. Jillian had dialed quickly. “Hey.”

“Are you okay there? Bones called and told us what happened at his house.”

“Jillian didn't call you?”

“Why would she?”

Caroline nearly breathed a sigh of relief but stopped herself. “No reason.” She stopped just outside their bedroom door. “We're good here. Everything's locked up tight.”

“Where's your gun?”

“It's in the bedroom where I'm headed now. I was going to lie down for a bit.” Caroline reached for the doorknob and stepped inside the room. “Don't worry. We're good.” The words left her mouth as she realized that the bedroom window was open. She recognized the distinctive metal arms of the ladder Buster kept out back by his tool shed. “Oh, fuck.”

“What is it?”

“The window is open. There's a ladder.” Caroline closed her eyes as she felt someone behind her.

“Get downstairs with Jillian. We're ten minutes away. We'll be there in five.”

“Hang up the phone.” Harris spoke from behind her. The words were accompanied by something pushing against the back of her head. If she had to bet, Caroline would say that it was a gun. Fuck her sideways.

She hung up the phone, let it fall out of her hand. It broke as it hit the floor; the two sides of the flip phone flew in opposite directions. Oh yeah, this was just great. “If you were going to kill me, I figure that you'd have done it by now. So, what's this?”

“Oh, I'm not going to kill you.” Harris removed the gun and shoved her forward. The move was sudden and unexpected; Caroline stumbled forward. “On your knees. This is the end of the road, Caroline. That's what this is.”

Fuck. This was going worse than she'd ever imagined, and she had home-court advantage. The idea that Harris was about to kill her in her bedroom was too much. Something in her mind just shattered. She was so tired of being the victim, so tired. And every time that she looked down she saw the bandage on her lower arm, and it just reminded her how weak she was. This would be the second time that she was taken at gunpoint. One way or the other, it was going to be the last. “No. I'm not kneeling for you. If you want to kill me, you do it to my face.”

“Front or back doesn't much matter to me,” Harris smiled. “And I'm not going to kill you. Buster is, or at least that's not how it's going to look. See, it's going to look like Buster lost his mind; they'll find you, Jillian, and Ace dead by this gun that will be in his hand. Now, I just called my cell phone from the house line so it looks like you called me for help. I'll shoot Buster, in self defense, of course. And I'll have my job back and Nightshade will be gone.”

“No.” Caroline was tired of being afraid.

“No?” Harris laughed. “There's not a choice in it. I came to this fucked town to get my foot in the door with the Feds. All I needed was a few high profile arrests. Nightshade was the perfect target. A dedicated detective ridding the town of the oppressive rule of the local motorcycle thugs. It should have been easy, but instead, it's been a pain in my ass.”

“So walk away. No way that the Feds are going to touch you now, not after a suspension.”

“That's what you think, Caroline. For a smart woman, you're really naive to the way that things work. I know that Nightshade is planning on taking over Miller's business. All I need to do is lead the morons in the police department in the right direction when I'm explaining what went down here today. And it is going down that way, there's nothing that you can do about it.”

Caroline saw the doorknob turn. Jillian had come upstairs, hopefully she'd overheard what had just happened and wasn't just coming in to check on her. At a certain point, the door squeaked. Buster had said that he was going to fix it but hadn't gotten around to it. The noise made Harris turn. There was no one in the doorway.

Before Harris was able to turn back around, Caroline threw herself forward. She knocked her to the ground, and the gun slid across the floor. “Jillian, get the gun!” She grabbed Harris by the hair as she tried to get up and smashed her head down against the floor as hard as she could.

Harris was dazed but she continued to struggle. Caroline screamed when the woman bit her hand. Who the fuck bit during a fight? It pissed her off and suddenly everything was happening so fast that it didn't even make sense. Jillian had the gun, it was trained on the two of them but they weren't staying still long enough for her to get a shot. And Caroline was trying to keep Harris down. This ended today, right now.

Caroline brought her head forward; her forehead connected with Harris's nose and mouth. She saw stars from the impact, but the woman was more than dazed. Blood poured from her nose into her mouth. She started to choke.

“Get up, Caroline.” Jillian grabbed her arm, pulled her to her feet. “Ace and Buster should be here any second.” She kept the gun on Harris. “They'll finish this.”

“No. I'm finishing this.” Caroline wasn't as steady on her feet as she could have been. Harris had gotten in some good hits. The bite on her hand was bleeding freely, and the bandage had been ripped off of her lower arm. Any progress she'd made in healing the wound had been rubbed off. “Give me the gun.”

“Let them finish this. Killing someone, no matter how justified you might be, changes you. Trust me.” Jillian took a step back.

“Give me the gun, Jillian. I'm not going to ask again!” Caroline growled the words. Her friend must have realized that she meant business, because she handed over the gun just as the heavy hum of engines could be heard from outside.

Harris was still choking, struggling to speak and get up to her feet. Caroline took a step forward, braced herself and fired three times. At such close range it was impossible to miss, but she hadn't accounted for the deafening noise of the shots. The gun was suddenly too heavy in her hand, so she dropped it to the floor. There was no doubt that Harris was dead and the floor would never be the same.